Chapter 1
Detective Blair Sandburg answered the door, not at all what Helen Magnus had expected. Instead of being a clean-cut cop, the man was a mass of curls. Bouncy curls at that. Definitely the enthusiastic sort. Will Zimmerman gave the Detective a bemused smile, obviously as taken aback by his manner and appearance as she was.
"Doctor Magnus?" he greeted her, his hand shooting out. "Wow. What an honor. Your work is just… well, it's just so interesting!"
She smiled and shook his hand. "As is your own, Detective Sandburg. I recall reading your dissertation when it was first leaked to the press. Utterly fascinating."
"Helps to have a fascinating subject. Nice to meet you both. Come in, come in." He ushered her and Will into the spacious apartment. "Tea?"
"Please. Is Detective Ellison in?"
"Not yet. Decided he had a stack of paperwork that absolutely couldn't wait." Blair scoffed. "Jim never does his own paperwork. Makes me do it instead."
"Well, you did mention that he was reluctant to help us."
"Jim tries to avoid getting labeled as a 'freak' or anything." Blair shrugged. "He's touchy about these things."
"I can imagine," Magnus agreed. "It's never easy, growing up as an abnormal."
Blair nodded his agreement, gesturing for them to relax on the couch, then hurrying into the kitchen. Magnus gestured for Will to take a place on the couch, then joined Blair in the kitchen.
"Did you, yourself, notice any abnormalities growing up? I've long wondered if the Guide isn't as unique as the Sentinel."
"Nah." Blair waved a dismissive hand, filling the kettle with water. "I'm just an average guy. Darjeeling okay?"
She smiled. "My favorite."
"What'll you have, Doctor Zimmerman?"
"Got coffee?"
"Sure do."
"There were no signs growing up? Are you sure?" she pressed.
"Pretty sure," he answered with a shrug. "Jim needs someone and I guess I'm that person, but it doesn't make me special or anything."
"Hmm."
Frowning thoughtfully, she joined Will on the couch, not speaking again until Blair had returned to the living room with the tea. A divine-smelling mug of Darjeeling for herself, coffee for Blair and Will. She shook her head. Americans…
"You know, Jim's never agreed to discuss his condition with any academic before. I think you mentioning that there was an eight year old child involved tipped the balance."
"Well, the girl obviously needs help and, if that help can come from an experienced individual, so much the better."
"Well, I can't speak for Jim, obviously, but I'll be more than happy to help any way I can."
"If he doesn't agree to help, will he be able to do without you?"
"We're not joined at the hip. Jim would manage." Blair leaned closer, his eyes eager. "Tell me about this kid you found. You're sure she's the genuine article?"
"She certainly seems to be. All five senses test considerably above normal, and her ability to integrate them is remarkable. For instance, she can tell whether a person is being truthful by using both smell and hearing."
Blair nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Jim does that all the time. Some kind of pheromone, I guess, and the sound of their heartbeat. Plus, I guess, their galvanic skin response changes, but don't ask me how he knows that. He can't tell me himself, just knows that it does."
"Remarkable. Is he in complete control of his abilities, then?"
Blair considered for a moment. "I wouldn't say complete, no. Especially if he's emotional or exhausted or sick, one or the other of his senses can spike. He doesn't need me to talk him down as often as he used to, but it still affects him. It was worse in the beginning. Sometimes he would swear he was losing it."
"I can well imagine. The condition is quite maddening for young Maria. I'm afraid the longer this goes on, the less sane and stable she appears."
"Well, she would hardly be the first Sentinel to go crazy from her abilities."
"You're referring to Alex Barnes?"
"Among others. I've been pulling together sources." He jumped to his feet and hurried into another room, returning with several well-stuffed folders. "There's lots of historical data on individuals with so-called 'delusions' that their senses are enhanced. Plenty of them ended up in mental institutions for life." He handed her one of the folders. "But if you could avoid mentioning any of that to Jim? He's a little sensitive."
"So you said."
Blair made an expressive face. "Yeah, well, it bears repeating."
Will had been silent, simply observing in that way he had. Magnus knew him well enough to know that he was seeing and hearing much more than what was on the surface. When he finally spoke, she was not at all surprised that his question seemed to strike a chord with Blair.
"Exactly how close are the two of you? How would you characterize the nature of your relationship?"
Blair shifted uncomfortably for a moment, sipping at his coffee. "We're close, I guess." He shrugged. "We… do things for each other, you know?"
"I read in your dissertation what you do for him. What does he do for you?"
"You mean aside from saving my life every couple of days?"
Magnus smiled, but Will was unimpressed. "That's what cops do for each other. What makes your relationship different?"
"Just is." Blair shrugged. "It's hard to define."
Will looked dissatisfied, but subsided. Magnus had no doubt that he would get the answers he was looking for in the end, no matter how evasive the Detective chose to be.
That evasiveness itself raised interesting questions. The dissertation certainly spoke to a certain bond between the two. She had not stopped to consider its nature or scope. It was an intriguing consideration.
"Don't know what's keeping Jim," Blair murmured, changing the subject. He glanced at his watch. "Let me give him a call."
"Very well," she agreed.
Blair climbed to his feet and picked up the phone, dialing quickly. "Hey, Jim. What's going on?" he asked. "Yeah, thought so. Come on, man! It's not that bad. She's really nice and I promise she won't ask you what it feels like to be a freak, okay? Just get your ass home, man." A slight pause. "Hey, great idea. Hadn't even thought of dinner, I was so busy getting my notes and everything together. Okay, man. See you soon." He returned to the living room. "He's on his way. Going to pick up some pizza for supper." Glancing at Magnus, he asked, "That's not too American for you, is it?"
She smiled and assured him, "The only thing 'too American' for my taste is your dreadful coffee."
Blair looked at her as if the concept of anyone not liking coffee was an entirely novel one to him. Typical Yank.
They passed the time until Jim Ellison's arrival discussing the practical side of his abilities, how it helped him in his chosen profession of law enforcement.
"Convenient," she noted finally as Blair described yet another instance where Jim's powers as a 'walking forensics lab' had solved the case. It was starting to seem to her that half the crimes this little city experienced were single-handedly solved by Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg.
"Helpful," Blair agreed, nodding. "But, with Jim, solving crime is more of a calling than anything."
"Do you consider that a genetic imperative? 'Protecting his tribe' as you put it?"
"I lean that way," Blair agreed. "But it's hard to say for sure. Alex Barnes sure as hell didn't care about any tribe."
"Yes, the life-choices of the two do seem diametrically opposed," Magnus agreed. "Would you consider Miss Barnes an aberration?"
"The exception that proves the rule?" He shrugged. "She was cracked, that's for sure. I would say that proper guidance is vital to a Sentinel's formation, but I really can't, given Jim's upbringing."
"Yeah, but suppressing the ability is probably the only thing that saved my sanity," a large man pointed out, entering the apartment with several boxes of pizza in hand. "If I hadn't been able to suppress it, I could have ended up just like Alex."
"Evening, Jim," Blair greeted him, jumping to his feet and relieving him of the pizzas. "Sit down, I'll get you a beer."
"Thanks, Chief." Jim patted his shoulder and stepped around him, moving to greet his guests. "Doctors Magnus and Zimmerman?"
She rose and extended her hand. "Helen Magnus. It's an honor, Detective Ellison."
"Nice to meet you, Helen." He squeezed her hand and smiled, but it was the wary look of a man just waiting to be analyzed and then categorized.
"Will Zimmerman," Will introduced himself, likewise shaking hands. He returned Jim's wary look with his best reassuring smile.
"Blair tells me you have a future Sentinel on your hands?" Jim asked, accepting the beer Blair handed him.
Blair handed out plates and placed the pizza boxes on the coffee table and sat down next to Jim.
"Informal, I know," he admitted, looking a little embarrassed. "But Jim and I both had a long day."
"There's no need for either of you to put yourself out," she assured him. "We're both just grateful to you for agreeing to see us. I appreciate that this must be a sensitive issue for you both."
"Sensitive doesn't begin to cover it," Jim told her. "But Blair's right. We're talking about a child. Some things take priority over personal comfort."
Jim still looked uncomfortable, but Blair reached out and lightly touched his knee. The big man seemed to relax instantly. She could see Will take note of both action and reaction, as she herself did.
Some kind of psychic or empathic bond between the two?
They helped themselves to pizza and Magnus kept her questions more technical than personal. How far could he see? How did lighting affect range and acuity? Was his hearing general or specific? Could he, for instance, discern one particular sound from amidst a cacophony? A meaningful glance passed between the two men at this question before Jim admitted that he could pick out Blair's heartbeat in a crowd of hundreds.
"Only his?"
He considered, then shook his head. "I could probably do Simon if I tried."
"Our Captain," Blair clarified. "They're good friends."
"So would you say the ability only applies to people you're close to?"
He shrugged. "Picking out an individual heartbeat is easy. Recognizing it is harder."
"Naturally," she agreed. "It's still a remarkable skill."
He shifted uncomfortably.
"Why don't you tell us about this kid?" Blair suggested, lightly touching Jim's shoulder. As before, the action seemed to soothe the older man.
She watched the two for a moment, fascinated. The Sentinel seemed to be drawing strength from the younger man. She had seen such abilities before, but never quite like this. If Jim were truly siphoning off something, Blair should have been weakened by it. Instead, the Guide seemed to grow in strength and serenity even as his friend did.
She would have loved to get a brain-scan of the two at that moment. Well, perhaps another time.
"Maria's sister was, initially, afraid the girl was having some kind of nervous breakdown," she told the pair. "For all intents and purposes, the stimulus is driving her mad. We've had to largely confine her to a dark, padded, soundproofed cell for her own safety."
"That typical of your methods?" Jim demanded, frowning.
"Hardly. Even our most dangerous guests are allowed some degree of freedom. What we operate is a Sanctuary, not a prison. Our aim is to allow abnormals to lead as normal a life as is humanly possible."
He tensed slightly at her use of the word 'abnormal'. Blair murmured, "It's just the parlance, man."
"The word's been in use for better than a hundred and fifty years," she told him, shrugging. "I've yet to find one more appropriate. It refers merely to an individual who is not typical of the majority human population. There is no stigma associated with it, I assure you."
Blair cleared his throat. "Tell us more about Maria," he suggested.
"From everything Will's been able to discover, she was a bright and vivacious girl before this all started. Since, she's become introverted in the extreme and typically unresponsive to others. Behaviorally, it almost resembles autism."
"Do you know what triggered this?" Blair asked.
"Precisely what you would expect," she told him. "The same trigger as Detective Ellison's. A protracted period of isolation in the wilderness."
"She was lost on a girl scout camping trip," Will clarified. "She wandered off from her group, kept walking when she should have sat tight. Six days later…"
Blair nodded. "That'll do it."
"Eight years old?" Jim asked, shaking his head. "Poor kid. Shouldn't have to deal with this ever, but at that age…"
"Coming to grips with new abilities is never simple," she agreed. "But I've often found that children have an easier time of it than adults."
Will nodded. "Children have fewer preconceived notions of how things 'should' and 'should not' be. At an age where their bodies, minds, and worlds are already changing radically, one more change isn't as big a deal as it would be in an adult. At that age, sense of scope is drastically different than in an adult. A thing is either earth-shattering or it's nothing at all. There's very little in-between."
Jim considered this for some time. "So if she's surrounded by supportive people who don't treat her like a freak, she won't think of herself that way?"
Will nodded.
Jim leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply. "Must be nice…"
Blair lightly touched his shoulder.
"Seeing a functional adult with her exact same condition will help," Will added quietly. "You'd be doing her a tremendous favor."
"You saying she has a chance to grow up feeling normal?" Jim demanded.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Will answered.
Jim glanced sideways at Blair for a moment, then looked directly at Magnus. "When does our flight leave?"